


It's just me

by Widow_Spyder



Series: Whumptober 2019 (Anime) [6]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime)
Genre: ?? maybe a little, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pining, Prompt #12, There's a cobra snake, Whumptober 2019, only a little though, sleepy Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 20:04:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21003407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Widow_Spyder/pseuds/Widow_Spyder
Summary: In some backward way, he wished Gen would drop his walls when it was the two of them.There he goes, not being logical.





	It's just me

_Yarrow flowers. _That’s what they needed now. 

According to the elderly villagers, they needed more yarrow flowers for the medicine they make. With the harsh winter coming up, it’d be good to have something to help with fevers and stomach aches, is what they said. Not that Senku was one to believe that _highly_ in a plant’s medicinal value. He did understand that it was something that helped the village stay relatively healthy for the last few centuries, but he preferred to leave his faith in the hands of science. Mainly, the antibiotics that took them half a year of work to make. With the antibiotics recipe finally conquered, they managed to open dozens of doors for other medicine that would work ten billion percent better than bitter teas. But the elders were adamant that they needed it, so now Senku and his small team were out looking for it. 

The team was made up of Senku, Suika, and Gen. 

_Senku_ for harvesting the exact part of the flower he needed. _Gen_ because he knew what the flower looked like and _Suika_ because she knew the most about the flowers that grew near their village. With their combined skills, they’d find the flower in no time...

_Yet, it took almost all day. _

At last, they had stumbled upon it, nearly shouting when they confirmed that it was indeed the flower they were looking for. 

“Finally, we found them.” Gen sighed with relief. His feet were starting to kill him. “Now, all that’s left is to collect it.” 

A rustle in the bushes. It caught Senku’s eye first, and it took him all of one second to realize what it was. 

“Stop.” Senku held out his hand to signal both of them to stop. “Don’t move.” 

Both stopped immediately. “What - what is it, Senku-chan? Why are we…” Gen didn’t get to finish his sentence before his eyes finally saw what Senku was seeing. 

“What is it?” Suika’s quiet voice came out from behind Gen. 

“A cobra.” 

“N - No way. Surely, not in Japan.” Gen stuttered. 

“Must be a new generation of the ones that escaped the old zoos back in our time.” Senku slowly moved his hand back towards himself. “A while back, we came across some lions too.”

“Oh, of course, lions…” Gen quipped. 

“I have a prototype flash bomb. I’m going to use it, grab the flowers, and then we all run.” 

“What if the cobra isn’t scared of it.” Suika asked. 

“It will be, trust me.” Senku slowly unfurled one of his bags and took it out. “Gen, you’ve got Suika. On my mark, close your eyes and run in the opposite direction.” 

Gen nodded, taking Suika’s hand in his own. 

“Three. Two. One. GO!” 

Four things happened right after Senku yelled his mark. 

_One._ He threw the flash bomb at the cobra, which detonated and nearly blinded him. _Two._ Gen and Suika ran away. _Three._ The snake fled. _Four._ Senku grabbed as many flowers as he could and bolted, swiftly catching up with Gen and Suika. 

They all ran for a good 15 minutes before slowing down and stopping. Silence overtook them as they worked to catch their breath. 

“Is - is it gone?” Suika was the first to ask.

“Yeah, it won’t - won’t be bothering us for a while.” Senku panted. 

The only one that didn’t remark was Gen, who was leaning against a tree. While it was odd that the mentalist, who could talk for hours wasn’t saying anything, Senku attributed it to the struggle of having to catch their breath after running so far. Neither Gen nor Senku were athletes, so it made sense that they’d both be hammered from it. 

“Let’s go back.” Senku said. 

The sun was going to set soon, and being out in the dark forest at night wasn’t a good idea. So they started walking; it was a long way back to the village. 

Silence overtook them for a while, as they all calmed down a bit. _They were alright. They had escaped. _

———————————

“Tch, that’s the last time I play rock, paper, scissors with a mentalist,” Senku complained. Suika was on top of his back as he supported her sleeping body. The day was hectic enough as it was, and when they’d noticed that Suika was starting to lack behind, they played rock, paper, scissors to see who would carry her back to the village. Of course, she insisted that she was fine but eventually gave in and almost instantly fell asleep.

“Aw, don’t be a sore loser, Senku-chan.” Gen teased. “Be happy; we got the flowers you needed.”

Senku didn’t answer, choosing instead to scowl and readjust Suika on his back wordlessly. 

Silence overtook their journey for a while until Gen suddenly spoke up about the language of flowers and their meanings. Senku was only half paying attention, choosing to nod and give his opinions when he thought necessary. They were closer to the village now. A clearing was up ahead that they used as a location marker whenever someone went on adventures. Gen was in the middle of talking about bleeding-heart flowers when they walked into the clearing. 

That’s when he noticed.

As soon as they stepped into the clearing, the sun shined brightly on top of them, effectively casting away the shadows from the trees. It made it all the more easy to see how his pale his companion was. Sweat was beaded on his forehead, and there was a slight tremor racking his body. If he didn’t know better, it looked like Gen was sick. He wasn’t, but anyone who didn’t know what had just transpired would immediately assume he was. 

The smile on Gen’s face felt wrong now. It looked more forced than it did a second ago, and it hit Senku like a ton of bricks. 

Senku stopped walking and glared at the mentalists back before he too stopped and turned around, a few feet away. 

“Senku-chan?” Gen cocked his head in confusion, his muscles tensing when he thought they’d have to run again. 

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?” 

“That fake smile. You were scared, I was scared, and Suika was scared, ok? No one else is around so drop the act, will you?” It sounded harsher than Senku meant it, but he didn’t want to see Gen trying to act tough when it was just him. In some backward way, he wished Gen would drop his walls when it was the two of them. _There he goes, not being logical._

Gen didn’t waver either. 

“Please?” he pleaded. 

It took a minute — until finally, Gen breathed out a heavy sigh, and the smile dropped. Not even a second later, he turned his head and started walking again. 

“We should get back to the village before it gets dark.”

That was it. Senku watched in near shock as Gen walked ahead of him. Shaking his head, he started following along as well. 

Senku wasn’t one to take apart every single detail of every conversation he had, but this time, he couldn’t help but feel like he did something wrong.

———————————

The minute they had stepped into the village, Gen disappeared.

_Was he upset? _

For once, he didn’t have an answer… In other words, it was a challenge he was willing to accept. First thing was first, though; he had to drop off Suika so she could adequately rest. They’d tell the others what had happened in the morning. 

Once Suika was tucked up and sound asleep, Senku left to find the other half of his team. He looked in the lab, around the outskirts of the village, and the “under construction” village. He wasn’t in any of those places. Finally, Senku decided to check the last place on his list; Chrome’s hut. He found that Gen would often sleep there if the conditions outside weren’t pleasant. The rest of the time, he had no idea where the mentalist slept. He’d have to ask that later. 

Pushing the door open, Senku climbed into the shed. “Oi, Gen? You in -”

He stopped mid-sentence when he realized that Gen was already tucked up in bed. Soft and even breathing told him the latter was already asleep. Great, he’d have to talk to him in the morning… 

Senku turned to leave, intending on going to the lab for some late-night brainstorming when a soft murmur drew his attention back to Gen. His face was scrunched up, and his visible hand was clutching the blanket in a death grip. In the soft candlelight, Senku could see a slight shiver run through Gen’s body, even though he was lying on his side, away from him. 

_Nightmares…_

Senku stood frozen. He didn’t know what to do! He wasn’t someone who was well equipped to handle the emotional side of a person. 

Damn it; he was already halfway out the door too! 

But, one more look at Gen’s face had Senku sighing in defeat and crossing the room to sit next to the sleeping mentalist. This is illogical. Gen is practically a grown-up; he can take care of himself. _So why was he sitting there? _

A tremble and a small whimper from the bed next to him interrupted Senku’s thought process. 

Gen looked so _uncomfortable. _

His hand moved automatically, placing itself on top of Gen’s head and moving slowly back and forth. Senku scowled when he noticed Gen’s hair was damp, still not dry from being washed. 

“Seriously, you’re going to catch a cold like this,” Senku muttered as he pulled Gen’s blanket further up until it covered his neck. 

Nevertheless, he kept petting Gen’s head. His fingers were combing through his hair and getting rid of the knots. Memories suddenly flooded back to him. When Byakuya had done the same thing to him when he was young and had gotten sick, he remembered it felt soothing at the time and helped him fall asleep fast. _Would it work on Gen, though? He was already asleep… Plus, he could have a different preference for being touched by other people._ Senku suddenly shook himself as he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. 

_Why the hell was thinking so seriously about this?_

A soft hum had Senku looking back down to the bed. He was surprised to note that Gen seemed more peaceful now. His eyes weren’t so tightly knitted together, and his mouth had opened slightly, making his breathing calmer. 

“I’m sorry about today.” Senku found himself apologizing. He nearly jumped through the ceiling when he actually got a response. 

“It’s alright, Senku-chan. Don’t apologize.” 

“Eh? How long have you been awake?” Senku asked, hoping the dimness in the room, would hide the blush on his face. 

Gen chuckled at Senku’s reaction. “I’ll admit I was asleep when you got here.” He shifted to face Senku. “But then I woke up when I realized someone was sitting next to me.” 

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I’m glad it’s you.”

Senku turned his head away in an attempt to regain himself. “Just wanted to make sure you were ok.” 

“Is Senku-chan worried for me?” Gen teased. 

“Tch, don’t let it get to your head, mentalist. I need everyone in tip-top shape to work.” 

“Of course.” Gen smiled that all-knowing smile, making Senku stumble through making his escape. 

“Then, I’ll just leave you to -“

“No, no. Stay.” Gen’s hand suddenly snagged the one he had in his hair, locking it in place. “Feels nice.”

Senku sighed for the 10 billionth time that day. He hated that he couldn’t say no. “Fine. Just until you fall asleep.”

“Mmm.” Gen hummed as his eyes slid back closed. Sure enough, Senku sat in silence for another minute before Gen was completely asleep beside him. For some reason, he stayed where he was, his hand still brushing through Gen’s hair. 

His gaze roamed the room until they landed on one of Gen’s feet. It looked all scratched up and bruised… Come to think of it; he had never seen Gen wear any shoes — he was always barefoot. 

_It wouldn’t be good to be barefoot when winter comes._ Senku’s mind whispered the thought to himself. _And there was his next side project…_

That was alright though, Senku decided when he looked at Gen’s content face. A slight smile had lingered on his face. _It’d be okay._

**Author's Note:**

> HEY, I'm back for Whumptober!! Sorry about the absence for the past few prompts. Work is hectic but I should be posting new fics every other day. I can't do all the prompts but I'm going to try to do as many as I can. 
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoyed reading! :)


End file.
